With “Junge Opern Rhein-Ruhr” the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and its two co-operation partners – Theater Dortmund and Theater Bonn – are pursuing their objective of commissioning composers to write new operas for children for a large stage. Following the initial success of Marius Felix Lange‘s ‘Vom Mädchen, das nicht schlafen wollte’ in the 2013/14 season, the second commissioned opera has now been able to secure the highly sought-after rights to set Astrid Lindgren’s ‘Ronja Räubertochter’ (Ronia the Robber’s Daughter) to music.

“In the night when Ronia was born, thunder rolled over the mountains. Yes it was such a stormy night that even all the monsters who lived in Mattis’ Forest crawled away in fright … ” – Ronia, daughter of Mattis, a robber chieftain, grows up in the middle of the forest. One day on her travels she meets Birk, son of the enemy robber tribe of Borka. When the two’s parents forbid them to become friends, Ronia and Birk run away into the woods …

To adapt Astrid Lindgren’s enduringly popular book with children and adults alike into an opera requires an experienced and committed team. The libretto has been written by Holger Potocki, who has previously written numerous texts for contemporary children’s operas. He has altered parts of the chronology of the book and woven several scenes into one in order to create the atmospheric and dramatic focus so necessary for music theatre. To compose the opera, we have been able to secure Jörn Arnecke, one of the leading composers of his generation, who received considerable acclaim for ‘Under Ice’ based on a text by Falk Richter for the RuhrTriennale 2007 and has held a professorship at the Weimar Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt since 2009. ‘Ronja Räubertochter’ will be directed by Johannes Schmid, who already staged ‘Vom Mädchen, das nicht schlafen wollte’ and whose film ‘Wintertochter’ was nominated for the 2014 Grimme Prize, after he was awarded the Golden Lola of the German Film Prize for the best children’s film in 2012.

***Jörn Arnecke
RONJA RÄUBERTOCHTER

World premiere / Commissioned composition for young audiences aged 8 and above

A family opera after Astrid Lindgren
Libretto by Holger Potocki

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A co-operation by the Deutsche Oper am Rhein with Theater Dortmund and Theater Bonn as part of “Junge Opern Rhein-Ruhr” under the patronage of Ute Schäfer, minister of Family Affairs, Children, Youth, Culture and Sports of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia